Posts By Michelle Shapiro

The Arizona Jewish Post won two awards in the Arizona Newspapers Association’s 2020 competition. This year’s ANA awards were announced via Facebook Live on Oct. 15. The AJP received a first place award in the Best Sustained Coverage or Series category for “Voices of Hope: The ongoing legacy of… Read more »

Rabbi Norman T. Roman and about 30 congregants of Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley gathered Sunday, Oct. 11, to celebrate Simchat Torah. For the sake of safety as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the service was held outside the synagogue. Everyone wore masks, kept a respectable distance, and… Read more »

“Be Strong and of Good Courage” (Deuteronomy 31:7) is the title for the Jewish History Museum’s 10th annual fall benefit, which will be held virtually on Sunday, Nov. 1. This year’s benefit honors Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim. “I think of Rabbi Aaron as my primary partner in… Read more »

Three University of Arizona students are volunteering with Hillel International’s nonpartisan MitzVote program, which encourages and enables college and university students to vote in the national elections. Rachel Kaplan, Lauren Bander, and Sarah Schneider are working with UA Hillel Assistant Director Abbii Cook on the project. All three of… Read more »

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, schools in the Flowing Wells School District are currently using remote learning instead of in-person classes. But the situation hasn’t stopped the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s support for Homer Davis Elementary School. Michelle Shapiro, graphic artist at the Arizona Jewish Post, recently connected… Read more »

Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona have been moving ahead with the strategic planning process known as “2020 and Beyond: Reimagining Jewish Life in Southern Arizona” and will soon share a road map outlining the path ahead.… Read more »

Penelope Starr

Penelope Starr, a local weaver and rug restorer, will be the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of The Tucson Handweavers and Spinners Guild on Oct. 21, 9:30 a.m-noon, via Zoom. Members can visit the members area of www.thsg.org for the Zoom invitation. Guests and prospective members should email… Read more »

Allison Wexler

The Free Loan at the Jewish Federation received a $10,000 grant from the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona last month. Allison Wexler, executive director of the Free Loan, said the organization has made four Covid-19 Relief Loans since being notified of the award on Sept. 8. For more… Read more »

The Tucson Jewish Community Center will hold a physically distanced opening for its Sculpture Garden on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The Sculpture Garden, created in 2009, includes new and established artists and is a cornerstone of the J’s arts programming. The opening will feature nine new… Read more »

Suzanne Baron Helming

Jewish community agencies honored volunteers with special recognition awards as part of the Community Awards Celebration & Annual Meeting 2020 that the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona hosted last month on Zoom. Here, the agencies offer a closer look at these dedicated lay leaders. University of Arizona Hillel Foundation… Read more »

This month, the Tucson Jewish Community Center will launch Amplifying Voices, a six-part virtual series designed to help explore the intersectional relationship between Black and Jewish identity and community. The series will begin Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. with Professors Marc Dollinger of San Francisco State University and Jerome… Read more »

We have just completed the cycle of what Rabbi Kerry Olitzky calls “the Fall Holidays of Memory.” During the month of Elul that leads into the Days of Awe, we spent many hours remembering this past year, doing cheshbon hanefesh, taking an accounting of our souls. This involves tallying… Read more »

Albert Morrow, 85, lost his battle with Lewy body dementia on Nov. 2, 2019. Al was born to Harry and Rhea (Millman) Rosenblum on July 10, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York. Al grew up in Brooklyn, eventually moved to Valley Stream, New York, and graduated from Valley Stream Central… Read more »

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona will present a free Zoom workshop, “The Impact of Violence on Young Children and Their Families: We Can All Make a Difference,” on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from noon to 1:15 p.m. All children who have lived with interpersonal violence are affected… Read more »

The Chabad Oro Valley Sukkah Mobile arrived at the Dove Mountain Walgreens on Tuesday morning, Oct. 6. “When you are inside the sukkah, the walls surround you like a hug from G-d, reminding us of G-d’s love, protection, and the themes of Sukkot – joy and Jewish unity,” says… Read more »

The University of Arizona Poetry Center, part of the College of Humanities, is launching a new, virtual Institute for Inquiry and Poetics. The inaugural convening, offered in partnership with the Hurand Connection Fund, will feature U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and poets Jennifer Foerster and LeAnne Howe, editors of… Read more »

Presently, it is more important than ever to ensure that your home or business is safe from COVID-19. If we all do our part in social distancing, staying clean, and disinfecting our buildings, the sooner things can get back to normal. This can be a difficult prospect, given that… Read more »

In early June, Aviva Zeltzer-Zubida, Ph.D., vice president for planning and engagement at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, visited Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon in Israel for what she calls a “deep dive” into the Weintraub Israel Center’s Partnership2Gether program. Zeltzer-Zubida met with representatives of social service programs… Read more »

The Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts will present its 13th annual Music+Festival, featuring the music of George Gershwin (1898-1937), Steve Reich (b. 1936), and William Bolcom (b. 1938), from Oct. 9-12. All festival events will be online, with free admission.… Read more »

Samson Isaac Goldberg, son of Lisa and Ben Goldberg, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, October 24, 2020, at Congregation Or Chadash and on Facebook Live. He is the grandson of Jerry and the late Mimi Sisk of Palos Verdes, California, and Karen and Bill Goldberg of… Read more »